MOTHER'S DAY 2015...

"a GOOD mom lets her kids lick the beaters.  a GREAT mom turns the beaters off first!"

I was standing in a long line at the little post office in Johnstown the other day to mail several cards and a couple of packages when my eyes rested on a turnstile of greeting cards for sale.  There were about eight people in front of me with only one clerk, so I idly glanced at some of the cards for "Friendship" "Missing You" and "Congratulations!"

As I spun the display some Mother's Day cards came into view, and I took out one or two, read the sentiment, and replaced it before I spied one with a drawing of a mixer with two beaters full of cookie dough.  The copy read, "a Good mom lets her kids lick the beaters."  When I opened the card I read the punchline:  "a GREAT mom turns the beaters off first!"

I began laughing.  A chuckle at first, but the more I played it over in my mind, the harder I laughed until I was practically snorting with hilarity because I thought it was soooo funny!  Finally I tapped the guy in front of me on the shoulder and said, "You've got to take a look at this one."  He took that same card out of the rack, read it and started laughing, too, before he put it back.  Then, he turned to me and said, "I've got to buy that one." And he did.  I told Louis about it when I got to the car and began laughing all over again then...and ditto the whole rest of the day every time I thought about it.

Today I thought about it again.  Only this time I thought about it in terms of myself. 

I was a GREAT mom.  Sure I made some mistakes, even some big ones that have maybe traumatized you and made you suffer all the while I have been mostly unaware of the pain I might have caused.  But I never, ever got up any morning and said to myself, "Today I am going to make my kids miserable and unhappy by doing or saying something insensitive or hurtful."  Nope, I just got up with the idea that I had a job to do.  And I did it the best way I knew how, from the example of my own parents, lessons at Church, and articles and books I read from the "experts".  But I loved being a mother!  It was hard work, and, admittedly, I made it more challenging by setting high standards for myself and for my children. 

Truthfully, there were years I really did not like Mother's Day in terms of myself (only to celebrate my own mother) and felt some guilt that I didn't measure up to some perceived notion that most other mothers were better than I for any number of resons.  Yes, some time in the past has been spent apologizing to you for things I did--or didn't--do. However, now I am at the point I can look back and say with all honesty, "I was a GREAT mom!"

Not only did I believe I had a responsibility to love and nurture you, but I also believed it was my job to teach you the gospel. Of course providing a clean environment, well balanced meals, appropriate clothing--Ross remembered that NOT being the case as he grew up--and what limited opportunities we could afford for the extras like piano lessons and some sports because I stayed home all those years, plus TLC for cuts and scrapes and bruises of the body and soul were all important.  Yet I know in my heart, that for which I will be most approved in my role of motherhood is that I taught you the gospel.

It seems that you have arrived at a sufficient point of experience in your own lives that you don't need to seek my advice--maybe because you truly believe I have no credentials to offer advice--but I hope now and then you have occasion to reflect on some of the things I taught you while you were growing up.  Perhaps you even used those experiences as a pattern in making decisions in your own lives.  I fancy believing that now and again you actually think I "did good" as your mother. That musing kind of warms my heart and helps me realize the joy promised to a "mother heart".

2015 is the 101st anniversary of this holiday whose real beginnings were "Mothers Friendship Days" which were instrumental in the reconciliation and healing of the wounded in families from both sides after the Civil War.

Charmaine Yoest writes, "At its heart, Mother's Day is a recognition of the power of motherhood. Motherhood binds together families and communities, and is a celebration of the unique contribution that a mother provides not only to her family but to the broader community as well.  Recognizing women on Mother's Day shows respect for those who choose every day to do the wonderful and hard work of parenting." I add to that statement, whether women have biological children or not.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!